Tag Archives: Weight loss motivation

Few days ago my brother was showing me some old family photos. While he was flipping through them I stopped him when I saw a photo that shocked me. It was a photo of me three years ago. The first thing that came out of my mouth when I saw it was “I used to look like that?!”. I think you know what I am talking about. It was a photo of me before I lost the weight.

Back then when I was obese I didn’t like my picture taken. After I lost the weight I was confident enough to pose to cameras. I bought a camera on my 20th birthday and I took plenty of photos, but in all of them I was in a healthy shape. I got used to my body like that and that’s why I was shocked when I saw the obese me in that old photo.

Seeing myself changed a lot, inside and outside, after I lost weight made me feel proud that I made the decision of living a healthy life. It was also a reminder of how I used to look and feel back then, and a motivation to keep moving forward and not fall back to the old unhealthy habits. So to all of you who wants to start this journey I suggest you take before and after photos. Being able to see your progress in front of you will push you further towards your weight loss goal.

As I said before, it’s very important for you to educate yourself before you start this journey. So basically the first thing I did was reading articles, blog posts, weight-loss success stories, and other things related to nutrition and fitness before I started doing any change. After that I had a base to start with. I kept building my knowledge throughout the journey.

What exactly do you have to read? You have to read about food and the basics of nutrition. Like how your body works when it takes food in, and how the food you eat affects your body, what are nutrients, how important each one is, how to eat a balanced diet…etc. You also have to understand what calories are, how much you need of them, and how much you should burn.
Another topic is fitness. You need to read about exercising and how it affects your body, read about the different kind of exercises, read about muscles and fats and the difference between them…etc.

Next thing you need to do is to be honest with yourself and prepare mentally for the lifestyle change. Sit alone and say, or write down, the reasons why you really want to lose weight. When you know your reasons very well and prepare your mind for it, you’ll be ready to apply your knowledge of health and wellness in your everyday life. Being psychologically prepared and accepting your new lifestyle are very vital for weight loss success. Because if you don’t have enough willpower for it then trust me, no one and I mean NO one in this world can make you lose weight. On the other hand, if you are determined to do it, then no person or thing can stop you from reaching your goal.

Weight loss is not magic. It’s really simple. You need to change your eating habits and start exercising. I know it’s been said so many times, but that’s because it’s the only way. You know why some people fail in losing weight? In my opinion (and from my observation of few people I know) it’s because they are not willing to educate themselves about it, and are not willing to give it all their best. They want to lose weight as fast as they can so they become thin. And they usually think of the process as a burden or as a deprivation from the joys of life. Pretty shallow and immature, right? What I want you to know is that it’s NOT impossible and it IS simple just if you decided so.

What I did after educating myself and preparing mentally was taking certain steps to change my lifestyle. First thing is my diet. These are the changes I made:
– Reducing portion sizes
– Quitting soft drinks
– Controlling dessert intake
– Replacing fried food with grilled, boiled, or raw food
– Stop eating highly-processed food as much as possible
– No eating when not hungry
– Stop eating when full
– Consuming the required amount of calories
– Snacking on healthy food
– Try to have 6 small meals instead of 3 big ones (not always possible for me)
– Adding more fruits and vegetables to my diet
– Drinking more water
– Replacing sugary juices and other drinks with unsweetened tea, coffee, and natural herbs
There are other changes you can make, and of course you can discuss it with a nutritionist as they would guide you to how to maintain a healthy balanced diet.

Second thing is exercising. You need to exercise in order to burn calories and lose weight. It is also important for your muscles and keeping your bones and joints strong. In addition that it’s necessary for your heart’s health. I started exercising at home. I bought a stepper, jumping rope, exercising mat (or whatever it’s called), dumbbells, and worked out. I’d do step aerobics 3 times a week, other cardio exercises 2 times a week, and strength training 2 times a week. You can choose the exercising routine that suits you. You can go to the gym of course and get a personal trainer to help you. Whatever the exercise is, the idea is to move. You may enjoy walking, or swimming, or basketball, it doesn’t matter. Find the exercise that you like and do it.

So you see, this is how it happened. It’s simple, isn’t it? It’s not easy for sure, but it’s gonna be worth it! And to everyone who can’t afford a nutritionist or a gym membership, guess what? I did it without a nutritionist or a personal trainer or a gym membership or even a treadmill at home! That’s why I told you that if you really want to do it, nothing can stop you. I lost 19 kilos (about 42 lbs) so far and still have some kilos to lose to reach my weight loss goal. I did gain some weight back (4 kilos), because I’ve let stress sabotage my health, which I am going to talk about in a later post. Anyway, I am back on track and hopefully will continue to lose weight and live a healthy life.

Losing weight is a really good journey that you will enjoy and learn a lot from, so don’t look for a quick fix and deprive yourself from this experience. Find your strength and your motivation and you will be invincible. So what are you waiting for? You CAN do it!!

As I said before, I want to share with you my weight loss journey. It’s about time to tell my story of how I lost 19 kgs (about 42 lbs) and still going.

To start, I wanna show you parts of my journal to give you an idea of what was going on in my mind then.

Saturday, Jan 28, 2012

“When you have a pair of black jeans that fits you really well and one day you can’t get in it, you know you’ve got a serious weight gain problem”

“I bought those lovely coats for winter but because I gained about 5 kgs (11 lbs) I couldn’t wear them to college. I got on the scale and I found out the sad truth that I weigh about 80 kgs (176 lbs)!! Since I am 156 cm (5 feet 1) this is not acceptable AT ALL!!! Then I realized I can’t wait anymore to start losing weight.”

“I don’t want to say I am going to ‘diet’, no! I want to change my life style. I don’t want to lose weight to fit in a dress for a party or something. No, I want to have a healthy body and feel good about myself. Beside that I don’t want to learn that I have diabetes or high blood pressure when I turn 30.”

“So my goal is to be 50 kgs (110 lbs) which means I have to lose 25 kgs (55 lbs). This is not an easy thing and it’s gonna take time and will need patience and perseverance. I will do it.”

I’ve been overweight since I was a child and became obese in my late teens. I was in some kind of denial that I am obese. I was well-aware that I needed to lose weight, but not that much. I’ve always wanted to lose weight and never was comfortable in my own skin. When I was 18, in the summer of 2011, I decided that enough is enough. I was determined to lose the 25 kgs and start the junior year in college with a new thin body. Of course I failed. Not only I didn’t lose weight, but gained another 3 kgs (about 7 lbs)! I was crushed.

I then decided to accept the fact that I’ll never be thin and I have to deal with my fat body in another way. So I went to shop for baggy and loose clothes to hide my body. I bought two floral blouses that were ugly as dog vomit. I only bought them because they were loose. I wanted to wear one of them with a black pair of jeans I had to college in the first day in junior year. Guess what? The jeans didn’t fit me. I was crushed even more.

During the first semester of junior year, my body was screaming “please I want to be healthy”. I used to have these awful headaches every single morning, which ruins the rest of the day. I used to feel heavy when I walk. My knees and my back couldn’t bear the weight. I wasn’t in a good physical condition, and that interfered with my everyday life. I wasn’t able to study well or concentrate in the lectures. It was also hard to remember things. In addition to feeling fatigued most of the day and lacking energy to do anything productive. I felt like I was 80 not 18!! Around the end of the first semester in junior year, I came to the realization that I should lose weight for myself and for my body to be healthier.

The reason behind my failure in the first attempt was that I did not educate myself about nutrition, exercise, weight loss, and so on, besides setting an unrealistic goal of losing 25 kgs in 2 months. I was aiming for a ‘thin’ body instead of a ‘healthy’ body, and that’s why I wasn’t motivated enough. When it was winter break, January of 2012, I started this lifestyle change. That’s when I wrote my journal entries I posted above.

How I got to being obese? Bad eating habits and no physical activity; simply sedentary lifestyle. So in order for me to achieve my weight loss goal and become healthier, I had to change the way I live. I had to change my mentality. And guess what? This time I was able to do it! During the two-week winter break I lost 3 kgs. The second semester started and I kept losing weight. I felt great!! It was like bringing life back to my body. It was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.

Someone on the web asked a question to healthy people about why they choose to eat healthy and deprive themselves from the “delicious” fast food and sugary treats. My answer was

“I chose to do that to enjoy life. I changed my lifestyle because I wanted to be healthier, lighter, more energetic, be able to do more things, enjoy eating REAL delicious food, feel younger, avoid having diabetes and heart disease when I get older, and mostly important to appreciate the body I have. If you don’t do that, it’s like you don’t care about your body and you treat it like a garbage can, dumping anything and everything harmful and unhealthy in it. Also, you learn to have self-control and be able to resist temptations and actually feel good and proud of yourself.”

Like I said, being healthy has loads of advantages. You’ll feel youthful, happier, more active and radiant. You will feel so good about yourself and your self-confidence and self-esteem will increase. My life instantly got better from that point. Here’s another entry from my journal I wrote in the beginning of senior year.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

“I’ve started this lifestyle change on January 29th 2012. I’ve lost 13 kilos (about 29 lbs) so far, and I’m so proud of my accomplishment. Though I still didn’t reach my goal, which is 9 kilos (about 20 lbs) away, my life already changed. First, I look thinner. Second, I feel lighter and more energetic. Third, I enjoy food more. Fourth, my body is stronger and healthier. And last but not least, by doing this I’m thanking God for the gift He gave me.”

Needless to say, senior year was much much better than any other previous year. I used to wake up fresh with no annoying headaches, had good night sleeps, became more confident and comfortable with who I am, no backaches when walking, ability to concentrate, better performance in college, increased productivity, more interest in life, and generally happiness and contentment. So if you are overweight or obese and living a sedentary lifestyle, what are you waiting for? Start now! There’s a whole new life out there waiting for you.